How can I check if a scrollbar is visible?

Question

Is it possible to check the overflow:auto of a div?

For example:

HTML

Answer 1

(scrollWidth/Height - clientWidth/Height) is a good indicator for the presence of a scrollbar, but it will give you a "false positive" answer on many occasions. if you need to be accurate i would suggest using the following function. instead of trying to guess if the element is scrollable - you can scroll it...

function isScrollable( el ){
  var y1 = el.scrollTop;
  el.scrollTop  += 1;
  var y2 = el.scrollTop;
  el.scrollTop  -= 1;
  var y3 = el.scrollTop;
  el.scrollTop   = y1;
  var x1 = el.scrollLeft;
  el.scrollLeft += 1;
  var x2 = el.scrollLeft;
  el.scrollLeft -= 1;
  var x3 = el.scrollLeft;
  el.scrollLeft  = x1;
  return {
    horizontallyScrollable: x1 !== x2 || x2 !== x3,
    verticallyScrollable: y1 !== y2 || y2 !== y3
  }
}
function check( id ){
  alert( JSON.stringify( isScrollable( document.getElementById( id ))));
}

#outer1, #outer2, #outer3 {
  background-color: pink;
  overflow: auto;
  float: left;
}
#inner {
  width:  150px;
  height: 150px;
}
button {  margin: 2em 0 0 1em; }

  

    check if
scrollable
  


  

    check if
scrollable
  


  

    check if
scrollable